US pledges 300-million-USD security funding for Southeast Asia

Hanoi (VNA) - US Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo on August 4 pledged to provide nearly 300 million USD in new
security funding for Southeast Asia.

The US official unveiled the figure to reporters on the sidelines of the
ongoing 51st ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM 51) and related meetings
in Singapore.

The US said last week that it will invest 113 million USD in initiatives
related technology, energy and investment in emerging Asia which he called
"a down-payment on a new era of US economic commitment to the region”.

In his statement on the threshold of
the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) on August 4, Pompeo called for diplomatic and economic pressure on the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) amid concerns that the Asian
country is making slow progress toward denuclearization.

DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho has also been in Singapore to attend the ARF but
there are no plans for a meeting between him and his US counterpart.

Previously, Pompeo
and his Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha had a meeting on the sidelines of the ARF,
during which the two sides agreed to maintain bilateral cooperation in issues
regarding the DPRK.

They also discussed issues of common concern such as the
share of the US forces’ burden in the Republic of Korea, sanctions against Iran
and trade.–VNA